PerthNorg

Heffernan right man for North Australia?

John Howard has formed a taskforce to examine the merits of The North becoming Australia's food bowl, with Bill Heffernan the guiding light of the committee.

But is Senator Heffernan the right man to ensure the development of The North is a sustainable option? He comes from a farming background, and from the opposite end of the country, South Australia. He is an old school senator, who is paternalistic and dismissive of any opinion which doesn't conform to his views of the world.

And then consider the qualifications of those he is leading. Media talents courtesy of Lachlan Murdoch, tourism and hotel skills of David Baffsky, indigenous and land use policy input from Noel Pearson, as well as further farming experience from Country Liberal Party MP Dave Tollner and Nationals Senate leader Ron Boswell.

At the Kimberley Economic Forum held in Broome yesterday, Senator Heffernan clearly indicated that those holding environmental concerns were destroying any opportunity of the north being developed as an agricultural base. He even went as far to say that "farmers are the true environmentalists".

Given his recent comments about Julia Gillard, and his outdated views on primary production, Senator Heffernan's appointment smacks of John Howard mateship, and the taskforce is merely lip service to an issue that is critical to Australia... that of water usage and whether we will be able to feed ourselves in 50 years time.

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